


Five Conversations and Their Consequence

by patriciatepes



Series: The Queen of St. Canard [11]
Category: Darkwing Duck (Cartoon 1991)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Dark, Beauty and the Beast Elements, Choices, Cliffhangers, Complicated Relationships, Confessions, Emotional Turmoil, F/M, Guilt, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Look At Your Life Look At Your Choices, Talking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-27
Updated: 2020-07-27
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:41:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25543024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/patriciatepes/pseuds/patriciatepes
Summary: After the appearance of NegaGosalyn in the Prime Verse, Negaduck looks for answers.  Meanwhile, back in the Skyscraper, Gosalyn has questions of her own that need answers.
Relationships: Gosalyn Mallard/Negaduck
Series: The Queen of St. Canard [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1235501
Kudos: 6





	Five Conversations and Their Consequence

Negaduck killed the engine of his motorcycle, the Troublemaker, just outside the pseudo-skyscraper that was almost completely across the city from his own.

"Pesudo" because much of it was still exposed crossbeams and scaffolding. Overall, the building itself was probably more metal than brick at this point. Dark and dirty snow surrounded the building and nearly covered the sidewalks, evidence of how little foot traffic happened in St. Canard these days. Despite its rather decrepit first impression, it was positively alive with lights. From the bottom floor up, the place practically glowed next to its dimly lit to dark neighbors. Negaduck's beak quirked into a grimace as he got off his bike and entered the building. It was largely deserted, and this came as no surprise to him. He marched his way over to a set of thin, unornamented metal stairs and began the annoying trudge upward to the topmost level. When he arrived there, he kicked opened the door (greatest way to make an entrance, he had found) and relished the sound it made as it crashed into the brick wall.

From his place behind a table littered with all sorts of bulbs (of all shapes, sizes, and colors), Megavolt jolted to his feet. He did a tiny bow, his head just barely missing the table's edge.

"Lord Negaduck, to what do I owe the honor?" he asked.

His voice only held a touch of sarcasm. Negaduck grinned. Back in the early days, right after he had killed Darkwing and begun his stranglehold on the city, the other four of the Fearsome Five had rumbled against him, discontented with his power and his ability to hold lesser thugs in line, despite his lack of superpowers. He took care of them quick, recognizing the need to keep their powers and talents around for future purposes. So he made them governors, of sorts, of different sections of the city, as had been his original plan the first time he had had this St. Canard all to himself. Darkwing and his own gathered group of heroes had stopped him that time. It took some tries, but after the debacle of his homeworld being forever shut off to him, he had recognized the real problem and had killed it. Literally.

Which led to his current problem. How in the hell was NegaGosalyn _here_ , in the Prime Verse? He knew how the worlds had been originally torn open—Megavolt and his tronsplitter. He clasped his hands behind his back and began to walk slowly about the room, as if perusing a shop.

"Got some questions for you, Megsy," he said.

He fought down a rueful grin. It was an insulting, childish nickname that sounded too close to the way Darkwing—and sometimes even Gosalyn both in and out of the Quiverwing guise—would refer to him. "Negsy" had been forever infuriating to him.

"I haven't done anything wrong," the rat immediately protested.

Negaduck glanced at him over his shoulder. "Guilty dog barks loudest. But don't worry. Whatever you did that's eatin' at you, I'll deal with later. Got more pressing matters."

Negaduck kept to the edges of the room, where all the bits (and wholes) of discarded inventions lay. He eyed all the machines, vaguely aware of what he was searching for. Finally, stepping over a toaster, he arrived at the offending machine. It was like a camera on a tripod, just as he remembered it being. Now, like most cameras of its body type, it lay folded up on its side, half-forgotten. Negaduck leaned down and thumped it lightly with his finger. Then, he turned to Megavolt and jerked a thumb back at it.

"I told you using the Tronsplitter was forbidden, Megsy."

Megavolt's brow furrow. Genuine confusion, which bred more confusion in Negaduck. But the Mallard Menace kept his face his usual hateful glare.

"I haven't used that old thing in years," he said plaintively.

"Hmm…"

Negaduck stalked closer to his table of bulbs, playfully placing a finger at the tip top of a large, particularly bulbous one. Megavolt seemed to be holding his breath. He moved his finger back and forth, keeping it lightly pressed against the bulb—and thus, moving the bulb as well. Megavolt's breath shuddered. Negaduck let a cruel grin grace his beak.

"Okay, sure. Then let me ask you this… when was the last time you went up against the Quiverwing Quack?"

Megavolt blinked, momentarily distracted from the peril his precious bulb was in. "Um… shoo. Been a while. Little over a year, I think."

"Didja ever… I don't know… hit her with a beam of some kind? From a machine that was either that damned Tronsplitter or something like it?"

His voice grew into a dangerous half-yell, half-growl. Megavolt blinked. He was thinking, and Negaduck mentally prepared himself to be here for a bit. But finally, the electrically inclined villain seemed to have a proverbial lightbulb go off for him.

"Well, it's been a lot longer than a year. Maybe like… three years… four… but I had been messing around with some old components of the Tronsplitter, trying to put them to good use. W-w-without breaking your order, o-of course. No more ripping holes in the walls between the worlds."

Negaduck nodded grimly. His universe, his perfectly crafted world of destruction, had been shut off to him forever. Once he had set his sights on ending Darkwing for good, he had decided that it had been for the best. It had been time for a new stomping ground, one that wasn't so… ingrained in his very bones. A fresh start, so to speak.

"And…?" he drawled.

Megavolt gulped, his eyes back on the bulb that Negaduck was clearly threatening. "And… um… I came up with something. I thought, maybe, instead of separating, I would go for pure destruction. So, instead of the trons splitting off, one half would just be destroyed. Figured… figured you might enjoy that."

Negaduck fought against grinding his teeth. Under any other circumstance, he would have been more than giddy at such a machine. But in the present, he had his ward in the Prime Verse when she should have been in the Negaverse. Not to mention that she looked identical to the woman he… well. On top of that, Megavolt had sought to destroy _Gosalyn_. He struggled to maintain his calm.

"And you managed to get a hit in on Quiverwing?"

Megavolt shrugged. "I thought I did. I was pretty sure she was hit. But… nothing happened. "

"And?" St. Canard's ruler demanded.

"And… that's it. Quiverwing destroyed my gang, I barely got away, and that was that. Last I heard, you'd killed Quiverwing Quack."

Had he? It was a question he still wrestled with. Sure, he had the strong suspicion that Gosalyn was beginning to return his feelings, given their slightly more intimate relationship. But every so often, some small act or fact would be revealed that made him question it all. As it stood, he was pretty sure he had his answer to most pressing issue. Or at least, enough of one. He knew how NegaGosalyn had got here. He just now had to make sure the door between worlds was still closed. That was what Morgana was good for. He smiled at Megavolt.

"You won't have to worry about Quiverwing Quack or her rebellion for much longer, I can promise you that. Have a nice day," he said, the last statement dripping with venom.

He turned, but as he did, he deliberately left his finger out. Not only did the bulb he had been threatening go crashing to the floor, so did the five between it and the edge of the table. Megavolt howled in anguish, and Negaduck began his descent back down to his bike, a smile on his face.

#

Negaduck had told her that he was going out for answers. He said that he wouldn't be gone that long. Gosalyn had decided, shortly after his departure, that what she desperately needed was a distraction. Gosalyn Mallard was not the girl to sit at home, worrying over when her boyfriend would be back to give her more attention. It had driven her crazy enough last time. So, with that in mind, she exited the bedroom, ignored the numerous stares of the thugs in the throne room, and didn't stop until she was in the elevator. She jabbed a thumb into the button for Morgana's floor and continued until she was at the doors to the witches' room, peeking carefully inside.

"Morgana?" she called.

Morgana, from her place at the whiteboard, a dry erase marker dangling between her fingers, turned and waved her in.

"Gosalyn!" she exclaimed when the girl was close. "I haven't seen you in forever! I'm so glad you're here."

She pulled out a chair that set at the head of the sturdier table, indicating that Gosalyn should take it. When she did, Morgana perched herself on the edge of the table. "What brings you by?"

Gosalyn shrugged. "Honestly… just felt a little restless."

Morgana frowned. "I heard that he captured the new leader of the rebellion."

She nodded, her gut clenching uncomfortably. She could still see her double, kneeling before both her and Negaduck, all sourness where there had once been nothing but sweetness. She had been bloody and bruised, but otherwise not majorly injured. Negaduck had demanded to know how she had arrived in the Prime Verse—something that Gosalyn had been totally unaware that her universe was called. NegaGosalyn and merely shrugged and huffed out, "Guess."

Negaduck, so jarred by the sudden appearance of his ward—daughter… was that a word that could be used here?—that he had had Joe and Moe lock her away. The fifth floor had been converted into a dungeon. Gosalyn had only gone there once and had not dared explore it much. She had feared being recognized by any rebels of hers that might be imprisoned within.

"He did," Gosalyn said simply. "Did he… did he mention to you who she is?"

Morgana's brow furrowed. "He didn't, directly. But he let his thugs see her face, which means… Well. They said it was your twin sister. But, it isn't, is it?"

Gosalyn smiled, no amusement to it. She was an only child. Her parents had never had the opportunity to have another.

"My doppelganger from the Negaverse, more like it."

Morgana sighed, shaking her head. "How? I checked after I heard… the walls are still holding. There's no way to reach the Negaverse, none at all."

"Well, that's what Negaduck said he went to find out. No idea what _that_ means, but… He also said it wouldn't take long."

The _unlike last time, when he came back wounded and covered in blood_ was left hanging. But Morgana flashed the younger woman a sympathetic smile.

"How are you two? I mean… well, after that whole fiasco at the museum…" the witch asked.

"A loaded question, if there ever was one…" Gosalyn laughed.

A worried look played across Morgana's eyes, but Gosalyn was quick to shake her head.

"He hasn't _hurt_ me, if that's what has you worried! Hell, I'm the one who sewed him back up."

She said the latter in a whisper. She had caught on quick that Negaduck never let on when he was injured, to protect his tough as nails image in front of his gangs.

"I wondered. I know I've been busy ever since you got me out. His doing… I swear, he is just making stuff up for me to do just to keep me isolated. Punishment for failure. At least he didn't shred one of my witches this time."

Gosalyn could actually feel the witches behind her stiffen at their leader's words. She chose to ignore it. Instead, she was indignant on Morgana's behalf.

"That whole thing was a trap, and not your fault! That stupid whatever-it-was was probably a fake, even."

"Even so. Negaduck doesn't tolerate failure. Which, speaking of my absence… I never got to thank you for getting me out."

Morgana stood from her seat, only to stoop and give Gosalyn a quick hug. Gosalyn froze, staring up at the witch.

"You would've have died."

"Still, you basically assisted Negaduck in saving me… when I more than likely would have deserved my demise. You know… after everything."

_After I betrayed Darkwing's memory, after I betrayed the citizens of this city, after I betrayed you_ … were all the things left unsaid.

"It would have been wrong, knowing that I could save you."

Would it have been? The question hung thickly between them. Gosalyn still didn't know the answer. But what was done was done. She was glad Morgana was still here amongst the living, and that had to count for something.

"Negaduck had quite the set of mixed emotions about you taking control," Morgana said teasingly.

"Yeah, he's a control freak, I've gathered."

She said it with a laugh, and Morgana's smile widened a fraction. "Yet, he was so proud of you, that you _could_ control the situation."

Gosalyn's flesh and feathers felt like she had something crawling up her arms. She shook it off.

"So, are you two… an item now?" she asked.

The real question she had been wanting to ask her. Gosalyn shrugged.

"I don't know."

She only spent most nights on the couch or in bed with him, their arms wrapped around one another, exchanging kisses and little touches like their lives depended upon it. True, she hadn't given in completely, so to speak. She wasn't ready to fully sleep with him in that way, her conscience still nagging her with every blissful kiss he gave her.

Morgana nodded, seemingly in understanding. "For what it's worth, though, honestly… Thank you."

Gosalyn smiled and stood. There was a tone of finality in Morgana's tone that signaled that their conversation was over. Knowing what the witch had just told her, Negaduck probably had a load of work on her.

"I'll take off, then," Gosalyn said, jerking a thumb at the door.

"I'm sorry. Just—" She gestured vaguely to the whiteboard that was filled with math (ew) and symbols that Gosalyn didn't recognize.

Gosalyn held up a hand. "It's fine. I'm just going to… wander."

She said it playfully, like she had something puckish in mind. Morgana nodded, wishing her farewell once more.

#

In truth, Gosalyn had had no idea what she wanted to do with herself. So, for lack of options, she returned to the throne room. She toyed, for a second, with the idea of going back into the bedroom and just idly passing the rest of the time Negaduck was away. But she remembered her antsy feelings the last time he had been gone, and it made her want to sneer at herself. True, she had been right to be worried about him that time—where she really didn't get the sense that he would be gone that long this time, as he had said. But… the question asked itself time and time again. Why should she be worried about _him_? Which brought up a whole host of other complicated emotions. And she didn't feel like dealing with that, so she wedged herself into the most ignored corner she could find in the throne room and let the cacophony of partying distract her.

It distracted her so much that, after being in her little dark corner for what had probably been several minutes, she had nearly jumped out of skin when she heard a tiny voice say, "Excuse me?"

Gosalyn turned toward the voice and had to fight her jaw to keep from dropping. Standing there, in a little red sundress, her blond hair cascading over her pale white-feathered shoulders, was Mitzy. The quieter woman motioned toward the table that Gosalyn had claimed as hers.

"May I?" she asked.

Stiffly, Gosalyn nodded. Mitzy slid easily into the seat across from Gosalyn's. For a moment, neither of them said anything. Finally, Mitzy extended a hand across the beaten and dented up table's surface.

"I'm Mitzy DeMollo. I don't think we've been formally introduced."

Gosalyn remembered thinking she had fallen into some weird alternate dimension when Negaduck had confessed her love. That had nothing on this moment. Here was the girl that was Negaduck's former go-to bedmate, politely introducing herself. The redhead forced her hand into Mitzy's and shook it once, stating, "Gosalyn Mallard."

"Nice to meet you, Gosalyn."

Silence fell once again. Well, not total silence. There were still a bunch of thugs and lackeys partying all around them. But at that particular table, neither woman spoke. Mitzy had a frozen smile on her face, and Gosalyn thought she could see the cracks underneath it. She was in no mood to participate in a cat fight—especially over Negaduck, because she knew his damn ego would just eat that up. That, and she didn't want to reveal that she could, in fact, hold her own. It would raise too many questions, she was sure. So, as it was, Gosalyn was trying not to break the already fractured mirror of Mitzy's smile.

"You love him, don't you?" the blonde finally blurted out, the smile faltering only slightly.

Gosalyn blinked, inwardly groaning. "I… don't know."

Mitzy nodded, that smile still stuck in place. But her eyes told a different story. They were a bit shiny, like she was seconds away from sobbing.

"He loves you," she said, so matter-of-factly that one would think she was the authority on the subject. "I've never seen him stare at anyone the way he stares at you. Not even me."

She took a deep breath, barely concealing a sniffle. Oh God… Gosalyn would almost rather fight than deal with this woman sobbing at her. But Mitzy composed herself.

"He's been hurt in the past. Love is… difficult for him."

Gosalyn's beak parted, ready to ask the obvious question, but Mitzy shook her head before she could get the words out.

"I don't know the details. Lord Negaduck has always been a very private person. But, what I'm saying… what I'm _trying_ to say is… He loves you. Like he never loved me. Don't deny it. I'm not… I'm not an idiot. I know… I know my past, what happened with my sister and her boyfriend. I know what that oaf wanted to do to me. When he killed him… my heart soared. He had saved me… _me_. So, if he wanted me in his bed… who was I to deny my savior?"

She seemed to be talking to both Gosalyn and herself, and Gosalyn fought every fiber of her being in keeping her beak shut. There was so much wrong with Mitzy's view of her place in the world that Gosalyn wanted to shake the girl. Then, as if in a distant memory, Negaduck's words about Mitzy drifted back to her, "Older than you, by the way, by a few years." Gosalyn kept thinking of her as a kid… maybe that wasn't fair of her, just like Mitzy's view of her own being.

"My point, Gosalyn, is that… everyone needs love. And if I can't be the one he loves… you better love him twice as damn much as I do. Okay? Take _care_ of him. He needs it more than he would ever admit—which would be never, actually. Okay? And be _sure_ you love him. Whatever happened to him in the past… I think someone left him… or someones. Don't do it to him again."

Before Gosalyn could respond, Mitzy was on her feet. With a decisive nod, she whirled and vanished into the crowd of criminals. It left Gosalyn flabbergasted.

_Be sure_.

She wasn't though, was she? That was the whole problem. The situation was too complicated. With a huff and a decisive nod of her own, she pushed herself to her feet.

It was time to face one such complication head on.

#

It was almost impressive how much the fifth floor now resembled the bottom dungeon in a castle. Gosalyn had been taken aback when she had exited the elevator, caught off guard by the transformation. The walls had been done over with old bricks. Somehow, it was damp. She began a slow trek of the hall on her left. Where offices should have been, the doors were all gone, replaced with sturdy iron bars that had very little space in the gaps between them. She glanced side to side, peering into the darkened cells. She noted that most were empty. She didn't know if this was a good thing (that most were steering clear of Negaduck and letting the rebels do the hard work) or bad (that Negaduck rarely took prisoners). Finally, at the very end of the hall, on the right side, she saw movement in the final cell. She had almost turned around to go explore the other hall, but she had caught it, out of the corner of her eye.

From the corner of the blackened cell, her red hair now falling in loose curls about her shoulders, emerged NegaGosalyn. She was still in her solid black suit, which had aided her effort to blend into the shadows. She strode forward now, eyes locked on her Prime Verse double, and didn't stop until she was gripping the bars of her cell in both her hands. She didn't say anything, only stared. Gosalyn shuffled her feet, inwardly cursing herself. She was Quiverwing Quack, for heaven's sake! She was the _original_ leader of the rebellion. In some effort to reclaim what that had felt like, to be the hero who was always in control, Gosalyn crossed her arms and fixed NegaGosalyn with a sharp glare.

"All your friends think you're dead… like Arrow Kid is," she said.

Gosalyn fought hard to keep her face passive. She had to admit… her double knew how to open with a bang.

"How long have you been in the rebellion?"

NegaGosalyn leaned against the bars, pretending to stare at her nails. That would be hard to do, seeing as her hands were still in black gloves.

"Have you been _here_ since you went missing?" she retorted.

Gosalyn allowed herself a small smirk. "Answer mine, and I'll answer yours."

She wasn't sure what she was supposed to think, as she stared at her jailed doppelganger. Darkwing had told her all about his adventure in the Negaverse, and Negaduck himself had mentioned his ward in passing. _This_ , this black-clad, cold-eyed young woman did not match up with the descriptions she had gotten from Negaduck and her father. The NegaGosalyn she had been told about had been her opposite in every way—dainty where she was rough, polite where she rude, simpering while she had always been bold. This current version of her was darkened, moody, and seemingly ready for a fight.

"What happened to you?" Gosalyn asked before she could help herself.

At this, her double scowled and turned to face her fully. She gripped the bars tightly.

"I could ask you the same, _Gos_. Tell me… after you were captured, how long did it take for _Lord_ Negaduck to get you into his bed? Or did you come here willingly? What did it take for you to sell your soul?"

Gosalyn felt herself go rigid. She grimaced. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh? Don't I? Or do you forget that I was Mr. Grumpypuss's ward? That I met _your_ father?"

Gosalyn's heart thudded beneath her chest, making it ache. "It's not what you think."

"Oh, so you're a spy, is that it? Deep cover? You're not his lover?"

Heat flushed her face and she looked away from NegaGosalyn, who huffed. When Gosalyn turned back, her doppelganger was shaking her head.

"That's what I thought. God, I had it figured out the minute I saw the two of you together."

"I haven't slept with him," Gosalyn mumbled, hating herself more and more with each passing second.

"Whoopee, do you want a gold star? How do you live with yourself?"

"You have no idea what I've been through!"

Gosalyn regretted her words as soon as she shouted them. NegaGosalyn laughed.

"Oh, yes. No clue. I mean, I had only lived with Negaduck from the time I was five. Though, I have to admit, he never made me any of the, ah, _offers_ , I'm sure he's made you. My personality wasn't his type, I guess, and I was far too young, I suppose. Nope. Instead, I had to live in _constant fear_ with the man who had _murdered my grandfather_ , obeying his every whim. I remember, Gos, dreaming of some… some utopia I could escape to… a world where Negaduck didn't exist. I thought, though, if I had to live with him, at least I could be _good_. I'd be the best at being _good_ , so he would have no reason to punish me or the people around me. Constant fear, Gosalyn. Do you get that? In my own home. Then, one day, he vanished. We had no idea—me and the Friendly Four—what had happened. He came back, of course, in due time. He was enraged—more than ever before and believe me, that's saying something. He spoke of this… this hero—a word I only knew the definition of in theory. He ranted about destroying this Darkwing Duck person. Then, then… I got to meet him. I got to meet Darkwing Duck. And he was everything I could have ever imagined and more. He wanted nothing to do with the Negaverse, but he stayed and helped us anyway. Negaduck vanished again after that, and we didn't seem him in the Negaverse anymore. But, then, I guess you know what happened next."

Gosalyn nodded, ignoring the pressure of unshed tears in her eyes. "He killed Darkwing."

" _Your own father_. Your _hero_. He killed him, and then he set to work making this universe just like the Negaverse. Then, one day, I was at home, minding my own business, then _poof_. I was here. I was in the Prime Verse. Boy, was I not expecting _this_. I immediately went looking for Darkwing, to see if he could help me. Oh, and, for context, this was only about four years ago."

Gosalyn closed her eyes, sighing. NegaGosalyn sighed too. "Yeah. Yeah, I learned the truth soon enough. Darkwing was dead. Negaduck had won. But then, another sliver of hope. I learned that my doppelganger was leading the charge against the villain. I was so proud. Then… this."

She gestured vaguely about.

"I'm sorry," Gosalyn whispered.

NegaGosalyn was back to leaning against her bars, unconcernedly. "Yeah, well, you should be. Honestly, Gos… what _is_ it? What is making you do… this?"

She pointed upward, obviously indicating Negaduck's seat of power—and thus the tyrant himself. Gosalyn wrapped her arms about herself, staring away.

"I think… I think I love him."

Her double arched a brow. "Really? Oh God, you're nuts."

Gosalyn blinked and stared at her. NegaGosalyn shrugged.

"How long have you been here? I know he must have you trapped here somehow. I'm guessing it has to do with that pretty little bauble around your neck."

Gosalyn did some quick math. At the end of it, her eyes were wide.

"Um… almost a year. A little over, I think."

"Then how do you know your feelings are even real? I mean, you might have that… whaddaya call it? Stockholm Syndrome? Yeah. You could have that."

Gosalyn pursed her beak closed. "I had wondered about that," she admitted after a moment.

"Then, my dear twinsie, it sounds like you need to figure that out and fast. Before there's nothing left of the person you once were. Because he's good at that."

With that, the conversation was apparently over, as NegaGosalyn made her way back over to her shadowed corner. Gosalyn, her head swimming with thoughts she had not expected to go over with her doppelganger, turned and made her way to exit the fifth floor.

#

Gosalyn had been sitting on the couch in the bedroom for less than thirty minutes before Negaduck returned. She heard the cheer of his thugs, then moments later, he entered the room. He slammed the door shut behind him—seeing that she was awake—and huffed.

"Well, think I've got it figured out," he began.

Gosalyn shot to her feet and rushed over to him, gently pulling him down onto the couch. He arched a brow at her, a suggestive grin playing about his beak. But Gosalyn had not spent her last thirty minutes awaiting a make-out session. She held his hands tightly in hers, and suddenly his look went from amorous to concerned.

"What's wrong?"

"I need to leave, Negaduck," she said.

It was best to rip the Band-Aid off quickly, as they said. His eyes looked like they were going to roll right out of his head. She held up a hand plaintively.

"Hear me out, okay? I… I think… I think I'm falling in love with you. But… I've been locked up with nothing and no one but you for over a year. Hell, I missed Christmas and New Year's, my world had been so wrapped up in you. I don't know if these feelings are… genuine. And no one deserves disingenuous feelings. I need to be free of this place… of you, so I can figure out if they're real."

She had never seen Negaduck as still as he was for the next few moments. She braced herself, ready for a storm of rage. Finally, with a slow blink, he said, "I can't let you just waltz out of here, Gos. Things have gotten too wound up together."

She nodded, prepared for this. "I get it. You think I'd run right back to the rebellion, feed them all your secrets. But that's just the thing… I don't think I need to return to them right now either."

Now he looked somewhat intrigued. "What? Quiverwing Quack choosing not to fight?"

"That's just it, Negs. I've spent my whole life being the child of a hero, then a hero, then the love interest/prisoner of a villain. I need to figure out what's going on with _me_ , where _I_ stand on things."

Negaduck leaned back on the sofa, eyeing her. She could almost imagine what was going through his head. After all, she had yet to forget his ominous words, the last time she had tried to get him to let her go.

_What I love… it never comes back_.

"It wouldn't be forever," she explained. "We could put a timer on it, even."

"…Unless you _didn't_ love me."

Her heart wrenched painfully. Negaduck didn't show pain or hurt often.

"But would you want me back if that was the case? Knowing what we could never share?"

She gestured, a bit, toward the bed behind her. She remembered his promise too, the one he had held up so far. He was silent for a long time after this. Then, finally, he rose to his feet, hands clasped behind his back. He walked over to where a window should have been—and was instead a boarded-up space.

"One year. With certain conditions in place."

Her stomach did a flip. Was this really working? She had had her doubts, obviously.

"What conditions?"

He glanced at her over his shoulder. "You can't stay in St. Canard. Go to Duckburg. You couldn't return to your old job, and _no_ hero-ing. None at all."

She blinked at him. "But… how would I live? I've gotta have money, Negaduck."

With that, he turned and approached a tall dresser that set along the left-most wall. He pulled open the last drawer, grabbed something inside, and turned. Gosalyn saw he held a black briefcase, and he brought it over to couch, popping the locks and flipping it open. Gosalyn gasped. It was filled to the brim with money.

"Has that been there the whole time?"

Negaduck shrugged, closing the lid. He held it out to her. "You'll take this money, more than enough for you to live off for a year, I would think. Figure it all out. Then, come back to me… you know… if…"

"I can't take that money. I don't know how you even—"

"You'll take the money and keep a low-profile, or no deal."

Gosalyn sighed. "Okay. Fine. New Year's Eve. Leave a path open. I'll come directly here—" she pointed to the floor, "—then. If."

A beat of silence between them. Gosalyn slowly reached out and grabbed the handle of the briefcase. He didn't let go at first, and she stared at him.

"Everything in my bones is screaming at me not to do this," he muttered.

She smirked. "I'm a hero, Negs. One of the good guys. If I give you my word that I'll stick to your conditions, then I will. And I do, by the way. No fingers crossed or nothing… you have my word."

With a sigh, he let go of the briefcase. With a muttered, "stupid hero rules," he motioned for her to turn around. She did so, no hesitation. A second passed, then, she felt his hands on the back of her neck. In the next moment, the ruby necklace—her anchor to this building, to him—fell free. She gasped, turning.

"It's hard to leave the city," he said without looking at her. "But I'll arrange it. You can take one of the cars too, of course. New Year's Eve."

She nodded. "New Year's Eve."

#

As promised, she had the briefcase, her Quiverwing costume, a car—she chose the most modest four-door she could find among his collection on the first sub-level to the building—and a letter from Negaduck. She was on the Audubon Bay Bridge, eyes on the guard post ahead (and determinedly not staring up at Darkwing's old base). There were at least six vehicles in front of her. Most of them were being turned away, back into St. Canard. Negaduck kept a tight fist on the population. After all, if everyone fled from the city, who would he rule over? Soon enough, it was her turn. She rolled down her window as a big, brutish white dog stooped to glower at her.

"And where do you think you're going, little missy?"

He had smug smile on her face, and Gosalyn returned one of her own. She held out Negaduck's letter. He stared at the paper for a moment before he took it and broke the seal. After a moment, he handed it back, tipping an imaginary cap at her.

"On your way then, Miss."

She nodded back, rolling up her window and driving off. Her shoulders were tense as she rolled along the rest of the bridge, a trip she hadn't taken in over a year. She glanced up at the rearview mirror, watching the skyscraper that had robbed her of that year plus recede from her view. She sighed and shook her head, astonished to find that she felt sad and a touch forlorn at the thought of going a full year without him.

She forced herself to put her attention back on the road ahead of her, noticing with surprise that there was snow on the ground. She had known the time of year—had even dressed for it, with a sweater and a big, fluffy coat—but it still had caught her off guard. Snow hadn't even fallen yet when she had been taken captive. Her stomach lurched a little, and she put a name to the feeling she was having: loneliness. Gone ten minutes, and she already missed him. She sighed again.

"Day one," she muttered to no one as she continued her way into Duckburg.

**Author's Note:**

> Alternative, humorous title: Gosalyn Says "F**k You" to Mitzy and Her Advice. Never fear, this isn't the end. In fact, I have the next two fics planned. No set schedule on posting, unfortunately (I've already shirked many writing-related promises for this series), but I'm hoping it'll be soon that you'll get the next one. Also, if you're interested, during the section where Mitzy and Gos are talking, "Hands Off" by Maria Vidal, from the Once Bitten soundtrack started playing, and from the moment that Negs and Gos started talking to the end of the fic, I listened to Avril Lavinge's "My Happy Ending." Please review! I would love to get everyone's thoughts on the progression of my little story.


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